It’s been a chaotic but exciting time in the British heavyweight boxing scene this week with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua right in the centre of it.
Fury is due to face Dillian Whyte in a mandatory WBC title fight on March 26 but disgruntlement over purse bids from the latter have stalled proceedings.
It now looks increasingly unlikely that the two will not face off at the Principality Stadium in Wales on the targeted date with Whyte in arbitration and the agreement period coming to a close today (Wednesday).
Meanwhile, reports are circulating that Joshua could be about to accept a £15m fee to step aside from his rematch with Oleksandr Uysk after conceding his WBA, IBF and WBO titles to him in September.
Joshua had initially played down suggestions of this but with the date and venue yet to be confirmed for his second fight with Usyk, the door opens ajar for a potential unification bout between the Ukrainian and Fury.
The champion would then go on to face Joshua at a later date.
Uysk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk recently revealed that talks for a potential battle with Fury have been going on since November with, he said, Joshua’s consent.
A middle-east Fury-Usyk showdown could be on the cards although Whyte does not want to lose his chance of taking on the Wythenshawe-born fighter in a long-awaited title shot.
"I just want f***ing war,” the 33-year-old recently said (via The Sun). “That's all I want is to go to war with the best.
"Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn - f*** all this 'he said, she said' bulls***."
Amidst all of this, Fury has had some choice words of his own, taking to social media on two occasions to vent his frustration at the uncertainty of it all.
In one Twitter video, he said: "Is Dillian Whyte gonna fight me? Is Anthony Joshua gonna step aside?
"Let me know. I am sick of listening to these bums - I am sick of listening to these excuses.
"The time has run out the bottle. Cowards."
If the Whyte fight falls through, Fury could step into the ring with another boxer without his belts on the line.
Two mooted competitors in Robert Helenius and Manuel Charr have already been outlined as potential opponents.
Notably, Fury has repeatedly stated that he would gladly fight Joshua without any titles at stake.
If a March bout, in whatever shape, goes ahead, Fury could be set for the most fights in a calendar year since 2019 (three).
For now, the next step in the saga is waiting for the outcome of Whyte’s arbitration negotiations ahead of the scheduled Fury bout.
